1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope cover with a channel which has at least a single channel, including a treatment tool channel through which a treatment tool, such as a clamp, is inserted, and which covers the inserted portion of an endoscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, endoscopes have been extensively used in many fields including medicine. Endoscopes used in the medical field have a deficiency when inserted into an organism, in that the observation window provided at the distal end portion of an inserted portion may be covered with body fluid, preventing thorough observation. Hence, in order to make a fluid, such as a washing liquid or washing gas, flow by an operation conducted by the operator at the proximal end of the endoscope to remove the body fluid attached to the observation window, the endoscope may be provided with a gas or a liquid conduit. Endoscopes provided with a suction conduit through which unnecessary body fluid is sucked and drained are also known. Also proposed have been endoscopes provided with a treatment tool channel through which a tissue is collected using biopsy forceps, or through which a medical treatment is conducted using a treatment tool.
For endoscopy, a clean endoscope must be used which has been subjected to thorough washing and disinfection before inspection.
Therefore, in the endoscope provided with a conduit, such as a gas conduit, or a treatment tool channel, washing or sterilization is conducted on the endoscope which has been used on a patient. However, it takes time for washing or sterilization to be conducted completely, reducing the efficiency of the endoscope.
Hence, an endoscope covered type endoscope apparatus which eliminates washing or sterilization has been proposed. The endoscope itself is used while it is covered with an endoscope cover provided with a gas or liquid conduit or the like. After use, the endoscope cover alone is discarded and replaced with a new one. In this way, the endoscope itself remains clean even after use, and washing or sterilization of the endoscope itself is thus unnecessary.
Such an endoscope covered type endoscope apparatus has been disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,646,722 and 3,162,190. In these endoscope apparatuses, an endoscope inserted portion is inserted into a cover so that it can be covered by the cover and thereby insulated from an external environment.
In the endoscope covered type endoscope apparatus of the above-described type, the inserted portion is washed or sterilized beforehand. The endoscope is inserted into the body cavity of a patient with the inserted portion of the endoscope covered with an endoscope cover for inspection or treatment. After use, the endoscope cover is removed and abandoned. Thus, since the endoscope cover is thrown away for each patient, washing or disinfection of the endoscope is unnecessary, and the endoscope is kept clean in a simple manner. The endoscope can be continuously used without being washed or disinfected again.
However, the endoscope covered type endoscope apparatus of the above-described type mainly employs a forward direct viewing type endoscope. An endoscope covered type endoscope apparatus employing a side-viewing type endoscope has not been proposed.
In the side-viewing type endoscope, the observation and illumination windows are provided at the distal end portion of the inserted portion in such a manner that they are directed sideways. Therefore, in a side-viewing type endoscope applied to the endoscope covered type endoscope apparatus, an endoscope cover having a different structure from one in the direct-viewing endoscope is used. Particularly, an endoscope cover with a channel, in which a channel, such as a fluid conduit, a suction conduit or a treatment tool channel, is provided, is different in the structure of the channels and that of the observation and illumination windows.
For example, in a side-viewing endoscope provided with a treatment tool channel, a treatment tool raising device for raising the distal end portion of a treatment tool, e.g., forceps, is provided. Since the treatment tool raising device has a complicated mechanism, it is not easy to provide the treatment tool raising device in an endoscope cover.
In an endoscope covered type endoscope with a treatment tool raising device in which a treatment tool raising lever for operating the treatment tool raising device is provided in the operating portion of the endoscope, as in the case of a standard endoscope which is repeatedly sterilized for use, mounting the cover on the endoscope for cover requires a complicated connecting operation, such as connection of a treatment tool raising wire for connecting, to the operating portion, the treatment tool raising lever to a treatment tool table.